As I posted earlier this week, I got a 1982 Gl110 Interstate that other than not wanting to settle down to an idle, and making idle screw adjustments with no effect I asked and got plenty of advice. Today I was reading a post and someone with an 1100 has a bike that will not idle, and has to keep reving it to keep it running. To make a long story shoet, my question is this:

Could my problem be a broken/unhooked/leaking vacuum line? And, does my '82 have an air cut off valve, and if so could that be my problem?? I should add that this idle problem I am having is 2 fold, the second thing is that when I release the throttle to up shift and pull in the clutch, the engine takes FOREVER to reduce it's RPMs rather than wanting to drop off as is normal. I hope this helps you all help me, I really like this bike and I am eager to really get out and enjoy it!

Thank you and I will check that out. I will have to research and find an exploded view so that I know exactly what I am looking for. I am guessing these slides are under the domes on top of each of the carbs..... I have seen posts where everyone says to polish the carb slides.

Yes the 82 has an air cutoff valve. If you have backfiring on deceleration it could be bad or have a loose vacuum line. The idle and slow return to idle could be any number of carb related problems. Slow return to idle is usually associated with carb sync. You can search for vacuum leaks with an "unlit" propane torch. Just point the propane at all locations around the carbs and intakes. If the rpms go up you have found a leak.

Tom

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

I do not have backfire at any time, so from your explanation it must not be the air cut off valve. I am going to pull and clean/polish the slides today and Saturday I am going to synch the carbs myself. After reading several tech tips and how-to articles, I decided to save my hard in cash, buy the mamometer and synch them myself, and do it a couple times a year.

If You don't have a set of gauges. do a search for homemade sync gauge or homemade manometers. They are not hard to build. and I have about 10 bucks in mine. The vacume port adapters are another problem altogether. I modified a friends GL 500 with 2 Brass 1/8 inch vacume in line pieces. Got to get out there this evening and get his carbs synced . If You don't have gauges to set the carbs with don't even try. You can get them close by using a dowel rod and adjusting the butterflies the same height , but even that will not be real close.
When you check the slides take them out and let them drop into the bells. Keep them with the correct carb , They wear in and have a slight difference after lots of miles. It may not matter but never hurts to do all U can to keep everything as is.

The Phantom gray is not the fastest wing color , But it has been known to slip by quickly and appear in front of faster colors at times

I appreciate all your advice! I took the plunge and bought 4 vacuum guages from Harbor Freight and then went to the pet store and got 4 shut off valves for aquarium tubing. I went to Home depot and got some nylon irrigation fittings with 5mm threads for adaptors to hook the hoses to the test ports. All this inf I got from the How-To articles on this forum. I am confident I will be all synched and smiling by noon time Saturday!

Best advice is to take your time , don't force anything and if you don't know the next step ask . It is better to take longer and get it right than to rush and ruin the carbs. atahey are expensive to replace if good ones are used.
Try Randaks cycle shop in N.C. He has the best rebuild kits money can buy . but then ya get what ya pay for ' he also has a good general information section just on GL carbs that has boo-koo info

The Phantom gray is not the fastest wing color , But it has been known to slip by quickly and appear in front of faster colors at times

Just realised from my first post today
to my second I put on 2 intake bootr on a CX 500 Took the carbs apart 2 times to get the throttle bodies set right , installed and synced the carbs. then rode the bike. let it get good and hot and walked around the yard a time or 2 hum I am getting old and slow.

The Phantom gray is not the fastest wing color , But it has been known to slip by quickly and appear in front of faster colors at times

Got the slides out (one at a time) polished and back in! They slide like warm butter on the kitchen floor! no sticking or binding anywhere. It was harder to pull the seat and false tank then it was to pull the slides! I was pleasently suprised I will go to the local Baxter's auto parts tomorrow and get the four 5mm fittings I need to attatch the vacuum lines to the intake runners and Saturday after breakfast I am going to synch the carbs!

Hello Jeff from Portland. I am following your progress here. I have been working on my newly acquired 82 since I got it three weeks ago. At first it wouldn't start so I went through the same steps everyone does, fresh gas, seafoam, new plugs. I got it to run but still have an idle problem like you described. Above 3000 rpm the engine is strong but like yours my revs do not always drop when I engage the clutch. After the engine is well warmed up the problem worsens. So I am doing my mercury stick synch tomorrow.

In the meantime I have replaced the front fork seals. Replaced the timing belts. Adjusted the valves. Flushed the radiator. Replace front brake pads and bled the fluid in the front reservoir. I did manually synch the carbs with a wire guage but that I don't think is good enough. Tomorrow will tell.

Have I mentioned to you before that we lived in Portland from 1977 to 1997. My favorite city. Now we live in the mountains close to Durango.

I will check back here Saturday to see how you made out. I'd like to know if the 5mm adapters you are getting from Baxters are the illusive vacuum connectors we need. Good luck.

Hello Jeff, read you message and thanks for your offer. I might be taking you up on it and of course if I can ever be of help I would gladly. We have a Baxters here too. I can check with them tomorrow.

So today I had a strange day. I called my friend who owns a repair shop and he said sure come on over. I do some website work for him and he gives me a hand from time to time. Well today was not the right day as the shop was so busy. Harry was frustrated. At one point late in the afternoon he said o.k. roll your bike in. I said I better ride around the block to warm it up. Mistake #1 it takes longer than that to warm up the engine properly. Once we got it on the lift there were some other interruptions. By the time we got to the task I am convinced the engine was not warmed sufficiently to run without the choke. I mentioned that but by then the tubes were hooked up and Harry was adjusting the curb idle screw and the synch adjustment screws and all the while the bike wouldn't idle and kept surging to 3K rpm. So after 20 frustrating minutes my buddy gave up. He declared that there must be something wrong with the carbs. He might be right but I am certain there was something wrong with our approach the the synch process. I rode the bike home and rolled it into my garage. I will order some guages or mercury sticks and do the synch myself. I may find that I need to take the carbs apart. But I am not ready to admit that yet. ( I have a receipt for a carb rebuild that was done about a year ago. I don't know that it was done right but expect that it was.)

More Sea Foam and another bench synch tomorrow. When I get guages I'll do the vacuum synch.

Okay, I synched the carbs this morning, after about 45 minutes I have all 4 within 1 (one) inch of each other plus or minus 1/2 an inch (as displayed on analog guages. The engine drops from open throttle to idle somewhat faster now, but not as quickly as it should. I am noticing that the port screws that you remove to get the vacuum readings at, as well as the adapters screwed in in the place of the screws are wet with fuel..... Could this be a rich mixture, or worse stuck floats???? Polished the slides, they are butter smooth, and still running Berryman's in the fuel at a rate of 1 ounce per gallon of gasoline. Anyone have any ideas???

Have you checked the air filter?? could be stopped up. Have had bikes that had stuff on top of the breathers covering the intake holes . Have U pulled the plugs and looked at them ?? If they be black then the mix is rich. Me thinks you would be better off in the long run to just bite the bullet and pull the blasted things , rebuild them right and get er dunn sunn.
It is sometime better to just jump in with both feet and quit piddlepaddling around . Summer is wasting and your still setting . Order a randakks kit and rebuild the things .
Guarentee you will be happier in the end.

The Phantom gray is not the fastest wing color , But it has been known to slip by quickly and appear in front of faster colors at times

Sorry, but I have been reading and trying to learn how to use this site, but ???
I did get a link to show how to set my valves and I thank you!
My 82 1100 was not running when I got it, so I took the carbs off (needed new throttle cables as well). I cleaned the carbs, checked needles and seats and found little wrong at all. Vacuum bells all were free and I have all new filters, plugs etc. It started fine and idled fair and skipped some on load. So then I adjusted the valves and found they were only a tiny bit tight. NOW it won't idle, but it did on frst startup after all this. But the more I drive it the better it runs and accelerates and runs at normal temperature. Re-checked valves and they are right on. But the more I drive it the worse the idle and the better the open road performance!??? I did not attempt the syncro of the carbs as it won't idle but a minute and very rough.
IS THER some air/fuel idle setting and if those two on each carb are to be set, how with the heat could they be set.
I haven't changed fuel filter, but pump pressure is good to carbs, I THINK! Flow seems ok.
Good compression, starts ok... ??? could carbs still need attention?

You can only adjust the idle with the engine warmed up to normal. So get her running and ride around the block. You don't however want the fan running when you try to adjust the curb idle screw. If it is not idling turn the curb idle screw clockwise until it does. This is a pretty sensitive adjustment. When it idles increase the revs and let it back down to 1000 to 1200 rpm adjust a little bit at a time ( 1/4 turn) by ear til you get the sound you like.

I have found that when my engine is cold it nearly always requires the choke to get it running. I take off with the choke out half way and ride 1/2 mile before I push the choke all the way in. When I get back from a ride and the engine is hot the idle might be as high as 2,000 rpm. If I turn it off and wait five minutes to restart ( no choke required ) it idles normally.

Good luck. You will get to know your bike. Each runs a little differently.

This is a good idea to add that toggle. As has been explained elsewhere it is also a good idea to have a floor fan blowing at the front of the engine to keep it cool during the time it takes to sync.

Funny thing has happened lately... I ride for awhile and the idle is too high...I thought that I had that problem solved. Today I backed the idle screw four full turns counter clock wise in order to get down to 1000 rpm. Of course I am puzzled because a few days ago it was doing fine. There must be some gremlins in the system.

hi everyone
I bought my wing 2 years ago, it was running petty decent, but did sound rough, at idle, my issue is my idle, when I start the bike it stays around 950 - 1000 rpm, after I comeback from a ride it's idling around 2500, I've checked a few things but can't figure it out.
Anyone have any suggestions, she also started backfiring this year at idle or when decelerating, any and all help would be appreciated.